


Returning the Favor

by olicitea



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Fluff, Male My Unit | Byleth, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Spoilers, Sickfic, also of the golden deer, but the route doesn't really matter, everyone is concerned about byleth, everyone loves byleth, mentions of the blue lion students, these children are precious and just want to do the right thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:09:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22870774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olicitea/pseuds/olicitea
Summary: Autumn in the Officer’s Academy was accompanied by an unfortunate event.Flu season.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth & Everyone
Comments: 4
Kudos: 86





	Returning the Favor

**Author's Note:**

> okay hi so this takes place in the black eagle route but it has nothing to do with the story, its just to clarify the students that byleth has.
> 
> also this is male byleth, just in case anyone is confused. I tried to make him speak as little as possible, just to keep it close to canon lol

Autumn in the Officer’s Academy was accompanied by an unfortunate event.  
  
Flu season. 

Although nothing more than an inconvenience in most cases, it spread like wildfire in such close quarters. It hit some students (and teachers) harder than others, and it definitely was a hindrance for their academic progress.

This year, it started somewhat unexpectedly. Ingrid was the first one to fall ill, and in proper Ingrid fashion, was extremely hesitant to stop attending classes. She toughed it out the first couple days, stifling coughs and struggling to breathe properly. It was on the third day, when she developed a fever, that Dimitri and Sylvain insisted she stay in her dorm to rest up. 

After that, a domino effect ensued. Ingrid passed it on to Sylvain, who passed it onto Hilda while attempting to flirt with her. Hilda, albeit grateful that she had an excuse to skip out on her lectures, requested for her dear friend Claude to care for her while she was under the weather. Of course, Claude fell ill as well. 

Like that, it continued spreading like a plague. Byleth noticed a few patterns. Linhardt claimed he had caught the cold but never left his room, so a few students speculated he just used the opportunity to sleep for several days straight. Ashe and Annette were on the lookout for anyone who wasn’t feeling well, ready to guide them to the infirmary at the first symptom of a flu. With an infirmary packed full of sniffling students, it was no surprise that Manuela herself fell ill as well, quite dramatically complaining to her class about how awful she felt after every sneeze or cough, and Hanneman got sick at the same time, vehemently blaming his coworker for his predicament.

Even Edelgard and Dimitri themselves got sick, much to everyone’s surprise. Out of all the students at the Officer’s Academy, they seemed to be invincible for some reason. 

By the end of the Red Wolf Moon, Byleth was the only one who hadn’t caught the flu, save for Rhea, Flayn, and Seteth. 

So when he stopped in the middle of his lecture to sneeze, all of his students winced knowingly. 

“Are you feeling alright, Professor?” Edelgard spoke up, eyeing her teacher hesitantly. 

Byleth sneezed once more before dismissing her question and going back to teaching.

By the end of the day, he was feeling noticeably worse. As he sat at his desk, grading papers into the late hours of the night, his throat became sore and his head had begun to ache. 

The next morning, getting out of bed to go to class proved to be a challenge. He felt distinctly weak and feverish. Looking in the mirror, he even noted his surprisingly pale face. 

His lectures were punctuated with raspy coughs and spells of dizziness, and he knew all of this students were staring at him intently, their faces a mix of pity and concern. 

It wasn’t long before Petra raised her hand. “Professor, you are looking rather ill. Have you catched…uh, caught, the coldness?” 

“If you are not feeling up to the task of teaching us today, then do not worry!” Ferdinand interjected. “I, Ferdinand von Aegir, will take over!”

“Oh please, Ferdie,” Dorothea sighed. “You’re massively unqualified to teach anyone anything.”

“If you’re cancelling class, I’m sure that’s fine by all of us,” Linhardt said with a yawn, already standing and on his way out the door. Caspar pulled him by the arm to sit back down. 

Byleth opened his mouth to reply, but instead was faced with a coughing fit. He leaned against his desk to steady himself and put his hand on his warm forehead, stifling a sigh. 

He startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, it was Edelgard, her face painted with concern. 

“You look like you’re about to keel over. You shouldn’t push yourself too hard. I suggest you get some rest,” she said, and with the concern, Byleth also saw the care in her eyes. He glanced over at his classroom and saw a similar expression on nearly all of his students’ faces. 

With a shred of embarrassment, Byleth relented and agreed to go to the infirmary for some sort of treatment. 

Upon arrival, he knocked on the infirmary door softly. After a lively, “Come in!” from Manuela, Byleth obliged and entered the room.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite new professor!” Manuela chimed, but she grimaced soon after. “Oh dear, you’re not looking too good. Here, sit down.”

Byleth sat down on the edge of the closest bed and watched as Manuela rummaged through her medical equipment. His sporadic coughing and trouble breathing told her all she needed to know, but she turned around with a thermometer and a few other instruments, just to be safe.

She winced after checking his temperature. “My, my, you’re really burning up.” She frowned, standing up and walking over to her cabinet. “You really need to rest. I always see you overdoing it. In the meantime, why don’t you lay down while I fix you up some herbal remedies?” 

Byleth did as told, placing his head on the pillow. Within seconds, he became drowsy.

“Seems like the same flu that’s been going around, but that fever doesn’t look promising. That’s one hell of an illness, I’m still not completely over it myself! Put me out of commission for at least a week…” she droned on and on, but sleep claimed Byleth before he had any say in the matter.

It was a deep, long sleep.

* * *

When he awoke, he wasn’t really sure what time (or day) it was. He was sweating and his throat ached. He didn’t exactly know where he was either. He had only slept in the infirmary once or twice before, so it took him a second to get his bearings. It was dark in the room, and he realized, with a start, that he was not alone. 

The room was empty except three students bickering in hushed whispers near the foot of his bed. He heard what they were saying before he processed who they were.

“I told you that’s not his favorite tea, Claude!”

“I’m so very sorry I don’t have the same sophisticated palette that you have, prince.”

“Both of you, keep it down! You’ll wake him!”

“You’re being loud too, princess!”

As if on cue, Byleth began coughing, startling the students.

The room became silent, and someone flicked a light on. Byleth got a good view of his visitors. Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard stood near the edge of his bed, Claude holding a cup of tea. 

“Hey, Teach!” he greeted with a smirk. “Good to see you’re awake.” He walked over to set the cup of tea on the night table. 

“How are you feeling?” Dimitri asked concernedly.

Edelgard elaborated, “You’ve been asleep for quite some time now. We were starting to get worried.”

Claude scoffed. “As if Teach would let himself be defeated by a flu.”

“For once, I have to agree with you, Claude,” Dimitri said, smiling. 

Finally, Byleth spoke, asking them what they were doing here.

Dimitri blanched. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re returning the favor.”

Upon receiving a quizzical expression from their teacher, Edelgard explained.

“You helped each of us out when we weren’t feeling so well, so now we’re trying to do the same. Though…we weren’t really sure what to do, so we at least got you some hot tea.”

“And don’t you worry about getting us sick, either! We’ve been through the wringer already with this one,” Claude added. 

Byleth couldn’t help but smile at his students’ thoughtfulness. 

“If we can’t offer anything else, at least let us keep you company,” Dimitri insisted, to which the others nodded. 

Despite the raging fever and aching body, Byleth felt the perfect type of warmth inside him. The three of them exchanged stories, while Byleth listened intently, drinking his tea. They all got along effortlessly, like old pals or even like one big family. 

* * *

Five years later, when war broke out, it was moments like those that Byleth missed the most. 


End file.
